In the field of medicine, modern techniques have been developed for diagnosing damage to the interior structure of a living body. One such technique is arthroscopy, which is most commonly used to examine the interior structure of bone joints, such as the knee joint, and to determine the existence and extent of any damage in the joint. A significant advantage of arthroscopy is that it permits internal viewing of the body joint without requiring conventional invasive surgery to externally expose the joint. Furthermore, if joint damage is discovered during the examination, relatively non-invasive corrective surgery can be performed in conjunction with the arthroscopic examination thereby repairing the joint damage.
Arthroscopic examination employs a device termed an arthroscope which typically includes a probe, an imaging device and a video display. In operation, the probe is inserted into the joint being examined. The probe is connected to the imaging device which in turn is connected to a video display, thereby generating a picture of the interior structure of the joint. Consequently, the operator of the arthroscope is able to view, real-time, the interior structure of the joint while the probe is in place in the joint. This enables rapid diagnosis of any damage to the joint and the prescription of appropriate treatment.
Despite the relatively non-invasiveness of arthroscopic procedures, insertion of the probe into the patient places the patient at some risk of infection. Accordingly, it is desirable to perform arthroscopic procedures under strict hygienic conditions to minimize this risk. Sterilizing the probe is the most obvious measure for avoiding contamination. This can be accomplished by employing reusable probes which are sterilized before each use. Alternatively and preferably, prepackaged sterile disposable probes can be employed which are discarded after use.
Although it is clearly critical to maintain the sterility of the probe during an arthroscopic procedure, it is also very desirable to prevent contamination by other arthroscope components which may come into contact with the patient or the probe. In particular, it is desirable that the imaging device, which is typically a hand-held video camera, and the line feeding the image from the imaging device to the video display be isolated. This is because the camera and line are immediately adjacent to the probe and near the probe's point of entry into the patient. The isolation of these components is of great importance because, unlike the disposable sterile probe, they are reused in subsequent procedures. This unfortunately increases the risk of infection from contamination transmitted from a previous procedure.
As can be appreciated, it is extremely difficult to sterilize sensitive electronic equipment that cannot stand up to the harsh conditions of a sterilization autoclave. Moreover, sterilizing liquids may damage the equipment or may not be totally effective. Accordingly, a need exists for adequate means of performing hygienic arthroscopic procedures. Specifically, a need exists for assuring the sterility of arthroscope components without subjecting them to the harshness of conventional sterilization procedures. Further, a need exists for a cost-effective means of achieving this result.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a disposable sterile barrier for arthroscopic cameras. It is another object of the present invention to provide a barrier which when installed still allows manipulation of the arthroscopic camera controls. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a barrier which can be used on existing cameras. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a barrier which is easy to install and use and which does not significantly increase preparation times for arthroscopic procedures. And yet another object of the present invention is to provide a barrier which is relatively easy to manufacture and is comparatively economical.